1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to synthetic chemical insect attractants. More particularly, the invention relates to chemical attractants and use thereof to detect, survey, monitor, and/or control moths (Lepidoptera).
2. Description of the Art
Many species of moths (Lepidoptera) are pestiferous. Larvae or caterpillars of a number of species of moths are serious pests of agricultural crops throughout the world. In the family Noctuidae, in particular, are many species of cutworms, armyworms, fruitworms, and others that cause severe losses of vegetable and fruit, as well as forage, and fiber crops and necessitate the use of large amounts of pesticides to reduce these losses. Three important species in western North America are the bertha armyworm (Mamestra configurata), the spotted cutworm (Xestia c-nigrum), and Lacanobia subjuncta. These are pests of many vegetable and forage crops, and Lacanobia subjuncta has recently been identified as a serious pest of apple.
Efforts to control pest moth populations on agricultural crops have relied heavily on broadcast applications of pesticides which are under increasing regulatory pressure. Chemical attractants are widely used to monitor the emergence patterns and distributions of moths on crops. These are exclusively sex pheromones attractive solely to males. They are of limited use in pest control because of the lack of effect on females and because they are not effective as attractants when the same sex pheromones are used for mating disruption by air permeation. The development of chemical attractants for monitoring pest levels and economic injury levels of pest moths on crops has been hampered by a lack of effective lures for females of these species. Similarly, the development of control technologies involving mass trapping of moths or poison baits would be greatly facilitated by the availability of effective lures for females of pest species.
Numerous species of Lepidoptera, including pest species of moths, are attracted to fermented sweet baits. Fermented sweet baits have long been used by collectors of moths and butterflies (W. J. Holland, The Moth Book. A Guide to the Moths of North America, Dover Publishing, Inc., New York, N.Y., 1903, 479 pages; T. D. Sargent, Legion of Night. The Underwing Moths, Massachusetts Press, Amherst, Mass., 1976, 22 pages). Lepidoptera and other insects are attracted to natural sources of sugars such as fruits, tree sap, insect honeydew, and plant nectars (M. J. Norris, Trans. Royl. Entomol. Soc. London 85:61-90 (1935)). It is generally considered that such materials must be fermented by microbes to become attractive, possibly due to the generation of specific odorants by colonizing bacteria and fungi (Norris, supra; P. J. Landolt, Florida Entomologist 78:523-530 (1995)). Attraction of pestiferous species of Lepidoptera to such materials has been documented for possible use in pest control, and include several species of Noctuidae (cutworm and armyworm family). These are the corn earworm (L. P. Ditman and E. M. Cory, Journal of Economic Entomology 26:109-115 (1933)), grass loopers (Landolt, 1995, supra), and the tobacco budworm (P. J. Landolt and E. R. Mitchell, Florida Entomologist 80:403-407 (1997)). Large numbers of noctuids were captured in traps baited with solutions of molasses or syrups by W. W. Frost (Journal of Economic Entomology 21:339-348 (1928)) who did not identify them to species. Isolation and identification of the odorants from fermented sweet baits that are attractive to moths would provide a useful attractant for use in monitoring and controlling pest species of Lepidoptera on agricultural crops.
Although numerous synthetic chemical attractants are known for moths, none are based on moth attraction to fermented sweet baits and very few are effective in attracting females. Most synthetic chemical attractants for moths are female-produced sex pheromones attractive to males (M. S. Mayer and J. R. McLaughlin, Handbook of Insect Pheromones and Sex Attractants, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla., 1991, 1083 pages). Several chemicals have also been identified from floral volatiles that are attractive to both sexes of some moth species (primarily Plusiinae) that obtain nectars from certain flowers. These are phenylacetaldehyde, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate, 2-phenylethanol, and benzyl alcohol (W. W. Cantelo and M. Jacobson, Environmental Entomology 8:444-447 (1979), K. F. Haynes et al., Journal of Chemical Ecology 17:637-646 (1991), R. R. Heath et al., Environmental Entomology 21:854-859 (1992), C. E. Smith et al., Journal of Economic Entomology 36:619-621 (1943), M. Jacobson et al. Experientia 32:964-966 (1976)).
The bertha armyworm, Mamestra configurata, is a pest of numerous crops, including alfalfa, flax, and canola (P. G. Mason et al., Can. Entomol. 130:321-336 (1998)). It is broadly distributed in North America. The spotted cutworm Xestia c-nigrum also is a pest of numerous crops, primarily vegetable crops (J. F. Howell, Environmental Entomology 8:1065-1069 (1979)) and is widely distributed in North America. Lacanobia subjuncta is a recent and serious pest of apple in the Pacific Northwest (P. J. Landolt, Pan-Pacific Entolomol. 74:32-38 (1998)) and is found across the temperate zone of North America. Numerous other species of noctuid moths are pests of nearly all agricultural crops throughout the world.
The present invention is directed to chemical attractants for male and female moths. In one aspect, the invention is directed to attracting noctuid moths using an effective attractant amount of vapors of 3-methyl-1-butanol or 3-methyl-1-pentanol or mixtures thereof as a means for detecting, surveying, monitoring, and controlling moths.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to attracting noctuid moths using an attractant chemical combination to provide an effective attractant amount of vapor blends or vapor mixtures of (I) acetic acid and (II) one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of 3-methyl-1-butanol (isoamyl alcohol), 3-methyl-2-butanol, and 3-methyl-1-pentanol. The volatilized blends or mixtures function as highly effective attractants for noctuid moths, and provide a means of detecting, surveying, monitoring, and controlling pest species of moths.
In one embodiment, the volatilized blend of the attractant combination is provided by a mixture of I and II. In another embodiment, the vapor blend is provided by a combination of I and II wherein I and II are positioned in sufficient proximity to one another to form a volatilized blend. In still a further embodiment, the vapor blend is provided by a single chemical, e.g., 3-methylbutyl acetate which releases a vapor blend of acetic acid and 3-methyl-1-butanol into the atmosphere.
The attractants of the invention yield specific attractants for noctuid moths, and provides a means for detecting, surveying, monitoring, and controlling these pests.
The attractants of the invention are the first known chemical attractants that are broadly attractive for female noctuid moths. Thus, the chemical attractants of the invention provide the first means of monitoring females of pest moth species, for the purpose of optimizing the timing of control procedures and for assessing population densities. The attractants are also useful in devising control strategies for pest moths through the combination of attractants with toxicants to kill female moths. Because the invention results in the trapping or death of female moths, it directly removes reproductive potential from the field, effectively reducing potential populations of pest moths and saving crops from damage.
Exemplary of noctuid moth species are Mamestra configurata, Xestia c-nigrum, and Lacanobia subjuncta, which are found throughout much of North America.
Without being bound by theory, it is believed that the moth orientation to sweet food materials is the bases for their response to the attractants of the invention, thus foraging moths are likely to be lured by the attractants of the invention. In use, an effective attractant amount of the attractants of the invention is provided in an area where moths are to be attracted, that is, an area frequented by noctuid moths of interest; an area where noctuid moths may forage for food or otherwise occur; or selected areas where detecting, surveying, monitoring, and/or controlling of these pests is desired. Conveniently, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-pentanol or mixtures thereof or I and II are dispensed within a trapping means to attract and trap the moths.
The chemical attractants of the invention are superior to non-chemical baits, e.g., molasses, jaggery, jams, sugar solutions, and fruit purees, because they provide a predictable, stable, and long lasting source of attractiveness.
The invention is also directed to lures wherein 3-methyl-1-butanol or 3-methyl-1-pentanol or mixtures thereof are in a dispenser means which releases the chemical or mixture as a vapor. Additionally, the invention is directed to lures wherein the attractant combination of I and II are held in a dispenser means which releases I and II so as to form the attractant vapor blend.
The invention is also directed to trapping systems for trapping noctuid moths. Such systems include trapping means, and an effective attractant amount of the attractant compounds, mixtures or combination of the invention. A preferred trap for the attractant combination of the invention is one which has a chamber wherein vapors of I and II form a blend such that the vapor blend of I and II exits the trap chamber and attracts moths to the chamber where they are trapped.
The invention is also directed to a packaged attractant and kit for attracting noctuid moths which include the compounds, mixtures or combination of components I and II.
Many species of noctuid moths are key pests of agricultural crops and cause losses of vegetable, fruit, forage, and fiber crops through direct consumption by larvae and by reduction in food quality. The attractants of the invention are useful to remove such moths in areas where they are reproducing and causing damage to crops and commodities. The chemical attractants of the invention provide a means of reducing populations of pestiferous species over defined areas by mass trapping and alleviate threats of losses to agricultural crops. Further, when used in combination with a control agent for the moths, such as a drowning solution, a pesticide or biological control agent, the composition can be used as a direct control agent.
The attractants of the invention can also be used as a poisoned bait by combining them with feeding stimulants and toxicants that the moths ingests, effectively killing or sterilizing them.
In sum, the novel chemical attractants of the invention provide a tool for the detection of noctuid moth species and provide a means for population control and population density estimation of these pests. The lures and trapping systems which include the attractants of the invention are useful for farmers and growers, orchardists, homeowners and gardeners, and other users where control of pest noctuid moths is desired.
The utility and effectiveness of the invention in attracting noctuid moths suggests the following applications: (1) the detection of populations, (2) the detection of population outbreaks or rapid population buildups, (3) the monitoring of populations, (4) the control of problem populations in discrete areas. In certain geographic areas there is a need to detect the presence of certain species of pest moths as they move into new areas, so that these populations may be destroyed or controlled. Many species of armyworms and cutworms are prone to intermittent population outbreaks in some geographic areas, causing severe losses to agricultural crops. Such outbreaks can be detected by programs to attract and trap moths, thereby gaining information on changes in moth numbers. It is expected that a means of sampling females of a species, rather than males, will provide more valuable information more closely related to pest activity and reproduction at a site. The attractants of the invention are also useful as a bait for traps used to monitor changes in population level. For example, efficacy of control procedures such as pesticide or microbial applications, may be measured with attractant traps that indicate population levels. Again, it is expected that a means of sampling females rather than exclusively males will provide more useful information in relation to the population of a pest at a discrete site. The attractants are also useful to control moth populations and activities where they are a problem through a variety of approaches, including localized trapping out of moths, and the use of the attractant in a poison bait formulation to kill attracted moths.
In accordance with this discovery, it is an object of the invention to provide chemical attractants for male and female moths, particularly noctuid moths.
Another object of the invention is the provision of the attractants as detection, surveying, monitoring, or control agents for moths.
A further object of the invention is the provision of the attractants of the invention for use with control agents, including drowning solutions, insecticides, biological control agents, or other toxicants, to attract and combat these pests.
Another object of the invention is the provision of effective methods of monitoring or controlling pest moths using the chemical attractants of the invention.
A further object of the invention is the provision of trapping systems for trapping pest moths which include trapping means and an effective attractant amount of the attractant combination of the invention.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of kits which include the compounds, mixtures or combination of components required to produce the attractants of the invention.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from the ensuing description.